Vatican City – Pilgrims from Central New York, Hawaii and the Akwesasne Reservation cheered and prayed during a morning Mass that finalized the process that added two women from the region into the Roman Catholic Church’s list of saints.

“The tenacious profession of faith of these seven generous disciples of Christ, their configuration to the son of man shines out brightly,” Pope Benedict XVI said during a nearly three-hour service that canonized Mother Marianne Cope of Syracuse and Kateri Tekakwitha of the Mohawk Valley.

About 80,000 people packed St. Peter’s Square, with many waiting more than three hours to pass through security before being admitted. When the Mass started at 9:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. Syracuse time), thousands of impatient pilgrims were still waiting to get into the square.

Betty and Tom McFarlane, of Ruston, Va., left their lodgings about 6 a.m., hoping to find good seats with supporters of St. Marianne. A few blocks before the Vatican, they and others were forced to a stop by the crowd of thousands already gathered there.

The McFarlanes heard about Mother Marianne’s story when her remains were exhumed from Kalaupapa in 2005 and returned to Syracuse via Dulles Airport. Since then, they’ve visited her shrine in Syracuse and kept tabs on her story. They were traveling with the group organized by the Syracuse Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, the order to which Mother Marianne belonged.

“We’ve been watching and praying. We had to see it through,” Betty McFarlane said.

Also grabbing an early spot in line was Patricia White Temple of the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho. She was there with her sister and cousin to see Kateri Tekakwitha (pronounced Gah-deh-LEE Day-gah-GWEE-deh in Mohawk) named the first Native American saint.
“Our mom always prayed to her until her death,” White Temple said. “She’s always been part of our family.”

Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham and Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva concelebrated with the pope, as did bishops representing the other new saints. Several priests from Syracuse and Honolulu distributed Communion. Sister Davilyn Ah Chick of Hawaii read a short prayer in English. Other sections of that prayer were read in four other languages, including Mohawk.

Sharon Smith, of Chittenango, whose inexplicable medical recovery in 2005 from severe pancreatitis and infection was attributed to the intercession of Mother Marianne, carried a relic in a special container to the altar.

Several Franciscan leaders received Communion from the pope, as did Pauline Chow, one of nine remaining residents of Kalaupapa who traveled to Rome to represent the thousands of leprosy patients banished by the Hawaiian government.

The pope gave a brief biography of each of the new saints.
“Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm,” he said in English/ “She is a shining example of the best of the tradition of Catholic nursing sisters and of the spirit of her beloved St. Francis.”